Here’s a collection of quotes from legendary copywriters of old and new. Over the years, technology may have changed, but the fundamentals of advertising remain. So, if you want to become a better copywriter, why not learn from the masters?

Enjoy!

(Note: quotes are not ranked)

21 little gems from copywriting royalty

1. Leo Burnett (1891-1971)
“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.”

2. William Bernbach (1911-1982)
“The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.”

3. David Ogilvy (1911-1999)
“The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything”

4. Joseph (Joe) Sugarman (1938 – )
“Every product has a unique personality and it is your job to find it.”

5. Ann Handley
“Brevity doesn’t mean bare bones or stripped down. Take as long as you need to tell the story.” 

6. John Caples (1900-1990)
“To impress your offer on the mind of the reader or listener, it is necessary to put it into brief, simple language…No farfetched or obscure statement will stop them. You have got to hit them where they live in the heart or in the head. You have got to catch their eyes or ears with something simple, something direct, something they want.”

7. Bernice Fitz-Gibbon (1894-1982)
“Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago?”

8. Drayton Bird (1936-)
“Understand the power of asking.”

9. Dan Kennedy (1954-2019)
“I know the mind, like the parachute, is most valuable open.” 

10. Joanna Wiebe
“Your job is not to write copy. Your job is to know your visitors, customers and prospects so well, you understand the situation they’re in right now, where they’d like to be, and exactly how your solution can and will get them to their ideal self.”

11. David Abbott (1938-2014)
“I spend a lot of time fact-finding and I don’t start writing until I have too much to say. I don’t believe you can write fluent copy if you have to interrupt yourself with research. Dig first, then write.”

12. Fairfax M. Cone (1903-1977)
“Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions it rarely moves anyone.”

13. Dave Trott (1947-)
“One of the best advertising people ever was Carl Ally. He said the true creative person wants to be a know-it-all. They want to know about all kinds of things: ancient history, nineteenth-century mathematics, modern manufacturing techniques, flower arranging, and lean hog futures. Because they never know when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later or six years down the road, but they know it will happen.” 

14. Mary Wells Lawrence (1928-)
“You can’t just be you. You have to double yourself. You have to read books on subjects you know nothing about. You have to travel to places you never thought of traveling. You have to meet every kind of person and endlessly stretch what you know.”

15. Gary Halbert (1939 – 2007)
“You must always find a market first… and then concentrate on a product!” 

16. Clayton Makepeace
“Believe me, nothing works as well on the web as deadlines.”

17. Claude Hopkins (1866-1932)
“Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising” 

18. John Carlton
“A sales transaction, at its most fundamental form, is an inherently hostile act.  Both the buyer and the seller want the best possible deal.” 

19. Eugene M. Schwartz (1927-1995)
“There is your audience. There is the language. There are the words that they use.”

20. Gary Bencivenga (1958 – )
“The vast majority of products are sold because of the need for love, the fear of shame, the pride of achievement, the drive for recognition, the yearning to feel important, the urge to look attractive, the lust for power, the longing for romance, the need to feel secure, the terror of facing the unknown, the lifelong hunger for self-esteem and so on. Emotions are the fire of human motivation, the combustible force that secretly drives most decisions to buy. When your marketing harnesses those forces correctly you will generate explosive increases in response.”

21. Elmer Wheeler (1903-1968)
“Don’t sell the steak – sell the sizzle!”

Bonus material

Here’s a bonus lesson from Elmer Wheeler:

And for a little bit of fun…